Isa van Lier

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Isa van Lier -

 

Isa van Lier (Amsterdam, NL, 1996) makes ceramic sculptures, installations, paintings and drawings. With her work she conveys an all-embracing idea of softness and playfulness. Through an universal imagery of shapes and colors, she immerses the viewer in wonder. She creates playgrounds, where the childlike curiosity of the viewer is being tickled, where time stands still and the intuitive inner world is allowed to be felt.

In 2019, Van Lier spent four months in Japan as an exchange student at Tokyo Zokei University. This stay had a profound effect on her work. In particular the 'kawaii' culture of the country inspires her: a cuteness that is visible through all layers of society. In Japan she was also introduced to 'shinto animism', which believes that everything and every object has a soul. By adding personalities to the shapes in her work, she applies this philosophy herself. 

The magnus opum in her young career is the fascinating work Len temple (Temple of Spring), which she made for the group exhibition Paradys (2022). Van Lier made a contemporary temple inspired by the Zen gardens of Japan, recreating the serenity and balance she found in these gardens. It was a plea for the creation of these kinds of places, which Van Lier feels are missing from the pace of everyday life in the Netherlands. 

Isa van Lier acquired a BA in Fine Arts at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK), The Hague in 2020. The following year she was a nominee for the Piket Prize for Visual Arts. She has exhibited at Het HEM, Zaandam, Art Rotterdam and 3.00G gallery in Tokyo amongst others. In 2022 her work was shown at the Kunsthal in Rotterdam and at the exhibition Paradys in Oranjewoud, curated by Hans den Hartog Jager. She did residencies at EKWC, Oisterwijk and at Het HEM in Zaandam.

 
  • Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1996

    Education


    2016-2020 BA Fine Arts, Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, The Netherlands


    2019 Exchange, Tokyo Zokei University, Tokyo Japan

    Exhibitions

    2022

    
Galerie Fleur en Wouter, Amsterdam, Painter’s Painters

    Unfair, Amsterdam 
Kunsthal, Rotterdam, Kunsthal Light, ‘FLOW’
Oranjewoud, Friesland, group show, ‘Paradys’
Galerie Vriend van Bavink, Amsterdam, group show, ‘Ministerie van Keramische Zaken’

    
2021

    
Maaskoe Gallery, Rotterdam, Kerstsalon

    Het HEM, Permanent Collection, Zaandam, solo Installation, ‘Guardians of het HEM’
Rademakers Gallery, Amsterdam, Edition Weekend
Art Rotterdam, Rademakers Gallery, Rotterdam, ‘Grabbelton’
Maaskoe Gallery, Rotterdam, duo show, ‘Urschleim’
Het HEM, Zaandam, ALL-INN Graduates

    
2020


    Tiny Art Gallery, Den Haag

    New Horizon, group show, Rademakers Gallery, Amsterdam, group show, ‘New Horizon’
Koninklijke Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten, Den Haag, Graduation Show, ‘ZEN SUPERMARKET’

    
2019


    Helena van Doeverenplantsoen, Den Haag, group show, ‘Note-to-Self’
3.00G gallery, Zokei University, Tokyo, Japan, one man show, ‘My Japanese Room’
T’Wit, Amsterdam, duo show with ROTS, ‘Nog Lang Niet Jarig’
KABK, Den Haag, group show, ‘Belly’

    
2018 


    SKÈR, Ruigoord, performance, Charley El Ranzino
KABK, Den Haag, group show, ‘To Dee or Not to Dee’ 
Czaar Peterstraat, Amsterdam, group show, ‘Home Expo 3.0’ 

2017 
Erik’s House, Amsterdam, group show, ‘Blousem’









2016 
Landjuweel, Ruigoord, group performance and installation with SKÈR, ‘Sofie in the Jungle’
Mollie Chaoot, Amsterdam, solo show, ‘Grote Glazen Kleine Lettertjes’

    
2015 


    Concerto Records store, Amsterdam, solo show

    Awards


    2021 Nominated for the Piket Kunstprijs
2020 Jan Roëde Award: Certificate of Excellence

    Collections


    Akzonobel Art Foundation, Amsterdam

    Het HEM, Zaandam

    Recidencies 


    2022 
Sunday Morning EKWC, Europees Keramisch Werk Centrum
Het HEM, Zaandam

    Publications



    2022   

    
Publication,‘Paradys: vijftien kunstenaars over macht en maakbaarheid’, Paradys, Oranjewoud, Heerenveen, 7 mei – 14 augustus 2022, Grytsje Klijnstra (red.), Esther Darley, Hans den Hartog Jager, Thomas van Huut en Bert Looper.